Will Too Many Android Flavors Spoil The Platform

I read every so often about how choices are scary. I even wrote about this nonsense recently. Here is another example. Android is FOSS so it can fragment and there can be different vendor-specific versions. It's the death of Android and oh so confusing according to the author.

Andorid on a smart phone will be used as shipped. Android on a tablet will be used as shipped by 95% of the users. Ditto netbooks. The users who will actually bother to look under the hood won't be scared off by choice. I see the Linux FUD has been joined by Android FUD. Is anybody surprised?

Nope. Not surprised at all. Though this piece reads more like how to make waffles..."Don't get me wrong...on this hand...on the other hand...I need more hands..." It's like the author wrote a script to Web-scrape a bunch of Android articles for random phrases and knitted them together. It's a tired re-hash.

It's different here, because people don't decide what OS to install on their phone.

Nonetheless, I think "too many choices" certainly is the reason why HD-content on CD-size format was postponed from "market domination" (because HD-DVD vs. BR) and why "HTML5 video" is still not a standard after all. Less choices speeds up uptake by consumers, that's for sure. Hence DIN, ISO and what-have-you: To limit choice. For the industry, it has worked out rather well.

Except standardization is slow unless the industry agrees. A "streetfight" like BR / HD-DVD takes about the same time it seems.

But believe me, when designing something you don't want "choice" in what measurement system to choose. You don't have to believe me, ask NASA. When developing industrial plants, there's not much you can choose, there's rules for everything, which is quite boring, but it's the best way to ensure security. You don't have to think very hard what happens when there's a lack of choice-limiting rules in a certain area of oil production.

So I'd say it depends on the situation, limiting choice can be a good thing!

Choice in consumer goods is considered good, except where the monopoly player(s) want to keep the status quo. In which case choice is good only so long as they are making the choices.